Asthma/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby An animation shows an inhaler being pressed twice. A loud releasing of air sounds with each press. A boy, Tim, and a robot, Moby, are at a race track. Moby is stretching. Tim reads from a letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, What is asthma? From, Lobo513. TIM: Moby and I are experts on this one. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Asthma is a pretty common condition of the lungs. People with asthma have trouble breathing, and sometimes they can experience coughing, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest. An image shows the word "Asthma" and lists three key bullet points: coughing, shortness of breath, and tightness in the chest. Moby coughs. TIM: Just because you have a cough doesn’t mean you have asthma, Moby. An animation shows the insides of a human body as air enters and fills the lungs. A detail of the lungs shows narrow passages filling with air. It also shows a close up of air sacs, or alveoli. TIM: When we breathe, air is sucked into a series of narrower and narrower pathways that guide air into hundreds of millions of tiny air sacs called alveoli. In these sacs, blood is replenished with oxygen, and carbon dioxide is expelled. An animation shows smoke and dangerous particles flying through the air. TIM: The air that we breathe is not always as fresh and clean as it could be. There’s all sorts of gunk in it sometimes. Pollution, smoke, molds, pollen, pet dander, tiny creatures called dust mites, dust particles. The list goes on. For people with asthma, these tiny particles can trigger what’s called an asthma attack. Attacks can also be triggered by things like exercise, food allergies, weather, and sometimes even strong emotions. It just depends on the person. Images show a stick figure running, a shrimp and nut (allergens), rain, and a green face representing anger. TIM: During an asthma attack, a couple of things can happen. The first is called bronchospasm. It occurs when the walls of the airways constrict rapidly and become very narrow. The second is inflammation. An animation shows an airway with air flowing. As dust enters, the airway swells. A chemical is released, causing mucus production to increase, further swelling the airway. TIM: When the cells in the lining of the airways detect a trigger—like, say, dust—they overreact. They release chemicals, which increase mucus production and cause the airways to swell. The swelling and excess mucus causes the airways to narrow, and it gets hard to breathe. The person will often wheeze really loudly as she struggles to get air in and out of her lungs. Moby raises an inhaler to his mouth and deploys it. It makes a loud sound, like a large intake of breath. TIM: That’s why people with chronic asthma should have their inhalers on hand at all times. An animation shows a restricted airway clogged by swelling. Then, after the chemicals from the inhaler are gulped, the airway relaxes and swelling decreases. Someone takes a full and unrestricted breath. TIM: When an asthma attack happens, the medicine in an inhaler will reduce the airway swelling and make breathing easier. An image shows a peak flow meter, which is a device similar in appearance to a temperature gauge. It has a red dial to measure airflow. TIM: Checking your peak flow meter daily is really important, too. An animation shows a shirtless Tim while a doctor places a stethoscope against his chest and listens to his breathing. TIM: Doctors are really good at diagnosing and treating asthma. An animation shows people running. TIM: That’s good, because with proper care, people with asthma can run around and play and do all sorts of stuff. There are even Olympic athletes with asthma, just to give you an idea of how treatable it is. Moby and Tim prepare to race. TIM: Okay, ready. Go! Tim and Moby race. Tim is winning until Moby’s long robotic leg passes him. Moby goes ahead. Tim puts his hands on his waist and scowls. TIM: No fair! Category:BrainPOP Transcripts